Little Green Army Men

Little green army men.   Remember them?   They were one of my favorite childhood toys.

For a dollar I could get a large bag of these toy soldiers.   They had a base to them to help keep the toy soldiers from falling over.

I visited Walt Disney World, Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Land this week.  It was a nostalgia trip down memory lane with huge representations of toys from my childhood.

And along came these "Little Green Army Men" drumming a nice marching beat on their drums.   Actually, they weren't so little.

They were completely covered in green material.   It is August and incredibly

hot, especially at 100% humidity.   I don't know how they managed to tolerate  the heat.

What was interesting was that they had flat pieces on the bottom of their boots similar to the toy army men.   And they could walk without any problem.

I only saw about half of the Toy Story Land but evidently they have the Little Green Army Men for sale in a gift shop.

By the way I was a big fan of R. Lee Ermy.   He was great both in Full Metal Jacket and Mail Call.

Have a really nice day wherever you may be.    Lew

 

Street Performers

Street performers.      At Hollywood Studios in  Disney World they have lots of street performers.     They do a terrific job and are very entertaining, and the people gather to watch them.   Last week when I visited Hollywood Studios I stopped and watched these two street performers.  

The guy on the box was running for Mayor of Hollywood and was giving a speech.   Can you read "Mayor of Hollywood" on the box?   Plus he also had a handful of money in his left hand.   He had passed out some of the money to about 4 or 5 people that were watching.    Then he didn't hand out any more money.   He had a lot of money.   You can see the thick stack of bills that he had.  

Some people in the audience made humorous comments to him and he just made impromptu humorous replies.   It was really great to watch.   I finally decided to speak up.   I asked him in a loud voice if he wanted me to vote for him.   He said that he did.    I told him that he would have to give me some money if he wanted my vote.   He handed me a $50 bill and I reassured him that I would vote for him.    I took a few steps away and looked at my $50 bill and this is what I saw.   I had a good laugh.   But here is the real "kicker".    As soon I was handed the money just about everyone in the large group of people watching immediately started asking for money.   And the guy on the soapbox was busy passing out  money to all of those people who were clamoring for "a piece of the pie" as they say.   I guess that I was the one who broke the ice on asking for the money.

    I wasn't expecting real money but I was hoping that it would have something about Disney on it.   But it doesn't really matter.   I will add this bill to my collection of Disney items.    It will always bring back a wonderful memory of my visit that day and these two great entertainers.

The temperature hasn't gotten beastly hot yet and the humidity isn't sweltering.   Each time I visit Disney it seems like I always have fun and these street performers are always so entertaining.   Have a happy day.   Lew

Star Wars Imperial Walkers

I went to Hollywood studios on Wednesday and had lunch at a restaurant called The Backlot Express.  

It is the least expensive sit-down air-conditioned restaurant that I have found in Hollywood Studios.   After having done a lot of walking and standing in lines in the Florida heat it just feels so good to sit down in an air conditioned place to rest and get cool.  

I had the Angus Bacon cheeseburger with french fries.   The condiment on the right is ketchup which is for the french fries.   The darker condiment on the left is barbecue sauce which went on the burger which then made it a barbecue Angus bacon cheeseburger.   I have an annual pass so I got a 20% discount on my meal which is a pretty good deal.   I know in the picture it doesn't look like a lot of food but it really is.    You won 't leave the table hungry.

The Backlot Express restaurant is located between the Indiana Jones stunt show and The Star Tours attraction.

After eating I left and headed to the Star Tours ride and gift shop.   And then I saw it through the trees.   It looked like an Imperial Walker.   I snapped a quick picture of it.

Yes, it was definitely an Imperial Walker.

They have a stage in front of the Star Tours where they let young children interact with Darth Vader and other Star Wars characters.    I think that they call it a Jedi training academy.   It must be awfully hot inside that dark colored Vader costume.   The Florida sun, heat, and humidity are a terrible combination.   Hopefully they have a cooling room for the individual.

I had a really fun day and enjoyed myself.   There is just something magical about Disney.   As they say, "The happiest place on earth".   So true.    Here is a picture that I got off the internet showing an Imperial Walker in the parking lot.

If you have ever visited a Disney Park then you know about the long single line of cars following the directions of the parking lot attendants.   It is actually a very efficient that they have and they are able to park a lot of cars really quick.   Hope you enjoyed the blog.   Hope even more that you get to experience Disney for yourself in the near future.   Have a nice day and keep an eye out for those Imperial Walkers.   LOL.    Lew

Star Wars

I went to Hollywood Studios at Disney World.   I wanted to see the March of the First Order, but I like to call it the March of the Imperial Storm Troopers.   They come marching from backstage through a tan gate.   You can see the gate in the picture below.   Some theatrical terms are used at Disney.   For example "backstage" means behind the scenes where the guests don't normally go.   "Onstage" means out front where the guests are.

As the storm troopers come marching down the street everyone (including me) was snapping pictures with their cameras and celfones as fast as they could.

As they marched there was very loud star wars music blaring with a heavy marching beat coming from numerous large speakers.  

There were five speakers on the building overlooking the square.   Note the three speakers on the iron balconies in the picture below.   There were two more speakers around the corner.   There were numerous speakers all along their march.    The sound definitely enhanced the experience.

They must have had some pretty big "woofers" in those speaker cases.   The volume of the music was tremendous.

If you are a Star Wars fan then you will really like the March of the First Order.

And hundreds of people followed the Storm Troopers to where a stage was set-up and some really nice Star Wars skits were put on.   All these people following the Storm Troopers reminded me of the Pied Piper leading all of the rats as they followed him.

I had a great time (as always) and I saw a large poster on a construction fence about an additional Star Wars attraction coming to Hollywood Studios.

Have a great day and "May the force be with you" as they say.   Lew